My 8 week old kitten wants to nurse my nose and lips!?

Question

She's not with her mother anymore, and she wasn't taken from her mother prematurely (I have her brother too). She does this when she's really sleepy or wakes up and wants to go back to sleep. How can I get her to stop? She keeps waking me up at night!

Answer 1

My kitten did that from the time i got him (6 weeks) til he was almost 10 weeks. I went and got a cheap stuffed cat from a toystore, cut a hole in her back, and stuffed a bottle down into it and made a hole where the nipple could come out similar to a mama cat. Then i would fill it with slightly warmed kitten milk from the pet store before i went to bed and would put it on the bed with me and the kitten. The kitten went from sucking on my chin to cuddling with that stuffed mama cat and nursing from it. Worked for me.

Answer 2

Sounds like she wasn't weaned fully when taken away. Kittens and puppies should stay with the mother until after 8 weeks of age so they are fully weaned and ready. Some take longer than others and some always keep the "habit" of suckling because it's something that comforts them. Get him a stuffed animal with soft hair and let him suckle on that if it bothers you too bad.

Answer 3

I don't think they ever grow out of it. Our cat is 4 years old, and he still like to suck on our earlobes. Not as much as he used to, but I would take it as a sign of love. Maybe he thinks of you as the mother? Animals know when there around good humans. And that's a good thing. If it really bothers you, try flicking her nose, very gently, but enough that she knows to stop.

Answer 4

My Leo didn't suck on my nose or lips or anything, but he'd lick all over my face when he was a kitten. He eventually stopped. My other boy, Cocoa, used to suck his back foot. I've never seen that! Someone told me that was because he was weaned from his mom, too early. He did eventually stop that behavior, too.

Answer 5

This happened to me!! My little kitten wanted to nurse my husband's nipple when he slept. She did it almost every night for months! We tried pulling her off etc., but she'd always sneak back. She was very persistent. After we got her fixed however the behavior stopped. I asked my cousin who is a vet about this, he said it's very common and not to worry about it.

Answer 6

She will just grow out of it. I had a kitten that use to do this and just like children they grow at different rates. This makes her feel secure and she will grow out of it when she feels completely at home with you. Right now she is scared and looking for you to help her feel safe & secure like her mother did.

Answer 7

Mine sucks on my earlobe. I got her when she was a very young kitten about 5 years ago, and she still does it. It doesn't bother me so it's not a big deal (I think it's cute). I guess every time she does it, just move her off of you.

Answer 8

She is probably not weaned (sp?) yet. You can by little tiny bottles for kittens that have rubber binky thing. When I first received our cats, their mother had abandoned them when they were young in our garage. I found that by giving them milk with this mini kitten bottle helped them.

Answer 9

i'd suggest buying some 'nobite' from your local drug store, and painting it on the parts your cat sucks. It's designed to keep kids from biting their nails by tasting totally foul. Tabasco's another option, but, if you're sleeping, the chances of you transfering it to your pillow and then your eyes, would make me nervous.

Answer 10

From this site http://mynursingprograms.com you can find the necessary information